Severe Weather

Tornado survival: FEMA provides plans for safe rooms

MOORE, Okla. -- The images of devastation left by the EF-5 tornado that ripped across Moore, Okla., are almost unbelievable. The photos and video taken from the air, though, beg the question: Why are there no basements in this tornado-plagued city?

Construction experts said that the clay soils in the Oklahoma region hold moisture. The dampness can lead to mold and fungus making their way into underground structures, such as basements. The soil conditions can also put pressure on basement walls, which can compromise the integrity of a building's foundation.

The May 20, 2013 storm had leaders in Moore looking at requiring all new construction in the city to include a storm shelter or safe room.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that a home or small business that has a safe room can provide near-absolute protection from injury or death caused by extreme winds.

"Our knowledge of tornadoes and hurricanes and their effects is based on substantial meteorological records, as well as extensive investigation of damage to buildings from extreme winds," according to FEMA's website.

FEMA said much of its information is based on research conducted by the Wind Engineering Research Center based at Texas Tech University.

The agency provides design plans for safe rooms and shelters to homeowners and small businesses. The plans include options to include safe rooms located in a basement, in a garage or in an interior room of a new home or small business building. The designs also show how to build an exterior safe room either buried underground, attached to an existing building or how to remodel a standing building to accommodate a fortified shelter.

Taking Shelter From the Storm

Taking Shelter From the Storm

A residential safe room is designed to protect families or small groups of people (up to 16) while a community safe room is defined as a shelter designed and constructed to protect a larger group of people from a natural hazard event.

A typical single family storm shelter is built close to the home, but not so close that the house could fall on the door during a storm. The main door on most storm cellars is mounted at an angle rather than flush with the ground to prevent debris from piling up and trapping the occupants.

Many shelters incorporate GPS technologies to assist in insuring recovery from the shelter after a storm or other catastrophic event.

In most cases cell service will be limited or not available at all inside of a storm shelter.

Below ground shelters provide the greatest protection, but a safe room built in a first-floor interior room also can provide the necessary protection. See your local building codes or FEMA for specific construction recommendations.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspect storm shelters at the temporary replacement site for Irving Elementary School in Joplin, Mo., July 2, 2011. The school was destroyed by the EF-5 tornado that struck the Joplin area May 22.